


Dragonbonds

by Xylianna



Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
Genre: F/F, Impression, Multi, a bunch of fluff really, femslash exchange 2019, gathers, gold rider x gold rider, gold rider x harper, pern culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-14 23:46:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21243992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xylianna/pseuds/Xylianna
Summary: Impression irrevocably alters the rider's life. Morgan never expected another woman's Impression to so profoundly affect her own life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [basketofnovas (slashmarks)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashmarks/gifts).

> Dear recipient, I hope that you enjoy! <3
> 
> Thank you to [aliatori](http://archiveofourown.org/users/aliatori) for their keen beta-san eyes and helping brainstorming characters/letting me borrow some OCs! 
> 
> Thank you to [stopmopingstarthoping](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stopmopingstarthoping) for letting me bounce ideas and also borrow OCs!
> 
> Thank you to [raidelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raidelle) for letting me borrow an OC!
> 
> A full cast list, with credit, will be in the closing note.

As brilliant sunlight began to fill the Hatching Grounds, Morgan slowly roused to wakefulness. She was astounded to have managed a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Lately her weyrmate had been restless overnight, as if she feared something happening to her eggs — and that meant her rider was equally sleep deprived. _Good morning, dear heart_, Morgan greeted Rialth, the love of her life and the best dragon on all of Pern, and her bonded partner of ten Turns. Her gray eyes shone as she beheld the gleaming gold sight, still wondrous after all this time.

_It is a good morning_, Rialth agreed in surprisingly good humor.

_How are you feeling?_ Morgan picked up a pot of oil and began to rub it into the massive golden belly presented to her.

Rialth’s answer was an agreeable warble, and Morgan smiled to hear her so happy. 

The sight of the headwoman and her son approaching with a pot of klah and a tray full of bread and fruit was a welcome one indeed, and soon Morgan had broken her fast and was on to her second cup.

_It will start soon_, Rialth said sedately. _If you wish to let the Weyrleader know._

Morgan leapt to her feet as she heard the muted hum begin. Looking up, she saw the first few dragons land to perch on the rim surrounding the Hatching Grounds. Shells, if only Rialth could have told her a little sooner! But, she was not unprepared. As Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr, Morgan had presided over many Hatchings, of her queen’s eggs as well as the other golden dragons’ clutches. 

_Could you ask Fuegoth to tell him?_ Morgan asked as she stepped behind Rialth, quickly shucking her dirty shirt and trousers and pulling on a simple gown in a vibrant lavender hue which she’d kept hanging in the makeshift quarters she’d maintained at her dragon’s side. The dress fell to her feet, which obscured her riding boots well enough that she didn’t feel the need to swap them out for the more delicate slippers she had in a teal that would match her belt. After running a brush through her white-blonde hair, she was presentable enough.

_They come_, Rialth dutifully reported mere moments before the Weyrleader walked out onto the sands, his bronze dragon joining the others.

“Good day, Rialth,” Nicholas bowed to the reigning queen of Benden Weyr, before turning to Morgan. “Good day, Weyrwoman.”

“It is a good day, isn’t it, Nicholas?” Morgan beamed at him. “Are the candidates all here? Did you send summons to the Holds and Halls?”

“Everything’s arranged,” he assured her. “You just enjoy this moment. Both of you.” He grinned. “I’ll be back when they start singing louder,” he pointed with his head skyward towards the crooning dragons.

“Thank you,” Morgan called after his retreating form, grateful that he would see to any final preparations needed so that she was able to think of nothing save Rialth and her soon-to-be-hatched dragonets.

Looking up at her beloved partner, Morgan saw the flickers of orange and yellow flashing amidst the more serene blues and greens in those beautiful multifaceted eyes, and she reached up to stroke one powerful shoulder. “It will be well,” she assured Rialth. “They will find their riders today and they will be happy.”

A disgruntled rumble from Rialth, and Morgan settled in to wait. It could be hours still, and she would use this time to commune with her dragon, to watch the eggs for signs of stirring, and to attempt to offer smiles and waves to folks as they trickled in. Morgan knew she was wearing a tender smile, and she didn’t care who saw it. Any Hatching reminded a rider of her own Impression, and to be at her dragon’s side — wise, cunning, warm Rialth, who had chosen _her_ of all the people on Pern — for her own was a special joy.


	2. Chapter 2

“Wake up!”

The insistent hand on her shoulder coupled with her lover’s voice growing more strident with each repetition had Maria begrudgingly rousing from her nap. She sat up in bed and yawned widely, screwing her eyes shut and stretching long limbs until she felt the blood really start flowing. Only then did she open her dark eyes to meet the ice blue gaze of her fellow journeyman harper, Cybil, who looked adorably irritated with her hands fisted on her hips and little furrows between her delicate blonde eyebrows.

“I’m up. But why?” Maria smirked, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and stepping into leather boots, tying them with practiced efficiency.

“Hatching has begun at Belden,” Cybil relayed in a clipped, but excited, voice. “Masterharper Frederick wants us to go, but the dragon is already here and we’ve got to hurry!”

Maria loved Cybil dearly, but the woman could be a bit neurotic at times. Just another thing Maria loved about her. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” she said placatingly, standing and haphazardly packing a carisak. A change of clothes just in case, paper and pen; what else was necessary? “Let’s go!”

When they ran out onto the courtyard, Maria realized she was goggling at the brilliant bronze dragon awaiting her. The rider regarded them with silent amusement shining in their hazel eyes, and the dragon bugled at them cheerfully.

_Are you ready?_ A voice sounded in Maria’s head, startling her so much she stumbled into Cybil. She realized that the dragon himself was addressing her directly and gasped — she’d never had the honor before and made herself commit the feeling to memory to savor later. Maria bowed towards the dragon respectfully, and then to his rider. “We are.”

“Change in plans.” Masterharper Frederick approached with the customary spring in his step, twinkle in his eye, and glass of Benden red in his hand. “Cybil, you’re needed to assist the Mastersinger with choral preparations. Lukas will go with Maria.”

A young journeyman with ginger hair and leaf green eyes sauntered up and offered each person in turn a bow — the one with the largest flourish given to the dragon and rider pair — before grasping the rider’s forearm and mounting the bronze dragon.

“Well,” Maria said, “I guess I’ll tell you all about the Hatching when I get back.” She brushed her lips against Cybil’s in a brief but tender kiss, then leapt up to sit behind Lukas, tightening the leather safety straps carefully before signaling to the dragonrider that she was ready.

Maria waved at Cybil and the Masterharper as the dragon sprang aloft and circled, and after a terse warning in her mind, _Get ready!_, they were _between_. Maria tried to count her heartbeats — this wasn’t her first time traveling adragonback, shard it — but the eerie lack of sight, sound, and sensation was too unnerving. When at last they burst back into the light of day, Maria was relieved to see the familiar crater of Benden Weyr replace the relentless black. Once they landed and unstrapped, she courteously thanked the dragonrider, who merely nodded at her before bidding their beast aloft once more.

_You’re very welcome, Harper Maria,_ the dragon’s voice infringed on her thoughts once more. _My rider and myself look forward to the music later._

_Who are you?_ she asked curiously, still thrown off her balance to have a dragon speaking into her mind and wondering if she could prolong the experience.

_Falleth,_ was the pride filled response. _Ridden by Apex._ And then the presence left Maria’s psyche and she shrugged, turning to Lukas.

“We should find seats,” she suggested. “And judging by the volume of the dragons’ hum… we should hurry!”

Once she and Lukas had crammed themselves into a section filled with other craftspeople, Maria focused her attention on the crowded Hatching Sands before her. Everywhere she looked massive, mottled eggs were rocking, but none had cracked yet — they had made it in time. The Weyrwoman and Weyrleader stood back next to the massive gold dragon whose wedge shaped head swooped over her clutch, tongue flickering out as if she was tasting the candidates’ mettle.

Four eggs burst open in near unison, causing the susurration of chatter to crescendo into a muted roar of excitement. Maria leaned forward on her seat, smiling to herself as she watched each new pair Impress, already thinking of the Ballad of Four Eggs she could compose to commemorate the occasion... and possibly earn her master’s knot.

“A queen,” Lukas breathed beside her. Yes, you could tell when a gold dragon egg was laid — it was the one color you could accurately guess from the hue of the shell, being solid shining gold as opposed to the more common egg colorings and patterns which held no discernable connection to the dragons held within. But the foreknowledge didn’t detract from the excitement one bit.

Maria locked her eyes on the tiny, glistening dragonet, watching with no small measure of scorn as the candidates who ringed her backed away in fear from the gnashing teeth. Sure, they were sharp, but listen to her cry! Why, she was just a hungry baby, that’s all, and no more danger than any infant. If none of those dimglows were going to help, Maria would at least steer the young queen towards the buckets of meat scraps overseen by the Weyrlingmaster for all the newborn dragonets, though why none of the weyrfolk were doing so was beyond her.

_So hungry_, a tiny, insistent voice inserted itself into Maria’s thoughts. Whereas the bronze dragon’s words had been an unexpected interruption, this felt as instantly familiar as her own internal dialogue.

Faucharth was hungry, so very hungry. Wait. How did Maria know the young queen’s name?

_Why wouldn’t you know it? I only have the one._ The small queen gave the strange coughing bark that was draconic laughter. _You are Maria and I am Faucharth and we are together.___

_ _Maria’s dark brown eyes grew round with the import of what had happened. She wasn’t a candidate! She was too old! She was just here to perform! But, more importantly… she was Faucharth’s, now and forever._ _

_ _Resting a hand atop the wet, wedge shaped head that came to mid-thigh, Maria led her dragon towards her first meal, heedless of the blinding joy radiating from her smiling face. _ _

_ _She was a dragonrider._ _


	3. Chapter 3

From her Weyr’s ledge, Morgan observed the weyrlings’ morning training exercises. Today the Weyrlingmaster was drilling them in hand signals used during flight, a necessary lesson that would be repeated many times over before the young dragonets were large enough to carry their riders in flight. 

She saw the way Maria had imperiously taken a spot dead center in the front row and shook her head in bemusement. Yes, weyrwomen still needed this information even though they would fly in their own wing with its own set of signals, since flamethrowers required different targeting than dragon’s breath. However, she was distracting all the others by her mere presence, and while they should get used to having a queen in their midst, Morgan thought she’d take matters into her own hands. It had been months since the Hatching, and beyond time that Maria started to learn a weyrwoman’s ways.

After patting the sleeping Rialth, Morgan made her way down the corridors until she walked into the Lower Caverns. She nodded at Linn, seeing the headwoman directing her staff in preparation for the evening meal, and then nearly ran over young Quinn, who bowed and stammered an apology even as mischief still shone in his dark brown eyes. Morgan ruffled his hair fondly, wondering what kind of trouble he and his dragon would get into after he Impressed someday.

It gave credit to the Weyrlingmaster’s discipline that as Morgan walked out into the middle of their lesson, the weyrlings kept their focus on Su and the dragonets on Su’s brown dragon, Survath. “Weyrwoman,” Su greeted her, inclining her head. “What can we do for you?”

“I’m here to borrow Maria,” Morgan said. “If that won’t interfere with your lesson?”

“Take her,” Su grinned. “I’ll bring her up to speed on anything she misses.”

Morgan beckoned and barely suppressed a grin at the color that rose in Maria’s cheeks. This one was almost too well suited to the temperament of a queen dragon; she was born to be a leader, not a follower, and having to show her Weyrwoman even this tiny bit of subservience seemed to chafe. Well, Morgan wasn’t one for enforcing rank and protocol unless it was necessary. She linked arms with Maria so that they walked side by side, and was surprised by the electricity that sparked from the contact. 

Tamping it down so she didn’t wake Rialth, she kept walking until they were outside the Weyr. She stopped beside a massive, ancient tree, sitting cross-legged beneath its sprawling branches and tugging Maria down to sit beside her. Once they were both settled, Morgan looked at Maria and smiled.

“You’ve been here a few months now. How are you settling in?”

“It’s been hard, being away from home,” Maria admitted. “At Harper Hall, I was surrounded by peers. Here, I’m not quite a peer of anyone — too junior to be friends with the other weyrwomen, and my gold seems to intimidate the rest of my weyrling class from getting too close.”

“That’ll change,” Morgan chuckled. “Just wait until Faucharth gets old enough to mate. You’ll have so many bronze and brown riders clamoring for your attention that you’ll think fondly back to the comparative solitude of life as a weyrling.”

Maria frowned at that, which gave Morgan pause. Being harper raised, Morgan hadn’t expected Maria would have qualms about the fact that her dragon would rise some day and Maria would rise right along with her. Sometimes the hold bred struggled with the casual sexuality of the weyr, where liaisons were all accepted provided everyone involved gave consent. The holds had grown a bit more progressive over the turns, and the crafts even more so. Why the dark look on the new queen rider’s face?

“About that,” Maria spoke, drawing Morgan’s undivided attention. “I already have a… a lover. Another harper. She and I spoke about how things might change with me at the weyr, and she understands how a rider’s emotions are taken over in that moment. She wants me to experience that, to enjoy that oneness with my dragon. But… a bronze will fly Faucharth.”

Morgan thought she understood, and her heart went out to Maria. “You prefer women, and you’ve seen we don’t have any women bronze riders here at Benden yet.”

“So you see my dilemma,” Maria cut in before Morgan could continue. “I’ll do what I have to do for my dragon. But I hope… I hope she’s a late bloomer.”

Morgan reached out and laid a gentle hand on Maria’s bicep, and when Maria finally met her eyes, Morgan gave a soft squeeze before releasing her arm. “No one in the weyr is expected to have sex with anyone they don’t wish to. No matter what dragon your Faucharth allows to mate with her, you need not couple with his rider.” Morgan grinned. “You think you’re the first rider who felt this way? We have ways around it in the Weyr. I prefer women too, and it’s never caused an issue in all my years bonded to Rialth.”

Morgan explained how you could read the signs that your gold was getting ready to rise, which gave you time to prepare. Maria could send for her partner from the Harper Hall, or if she met someone suitable here, arrange for that woman to be with her when her queen took flight. The riders whose dragons tried to catch Faucharth would simply remain in their weyrs with the partners of their choice. Everyone could still fully take part in the flight and enjoy the experience with no expectation of being with someone you would have never chosen.

Maria’s eyelashes were beaded with tears, like dewdrops on a crawler’s web. Morgan itched to brush them away, but clasped her hands in her own lap. She hadn’t earned that intimacy yet, though she hoped that she’d gained a friend this day.

“Thank you,” Maria said simply. “That takes a huge weight off my shoulders.” She grinned, quick and rakish. “You’re awfully nice for a Weyrwoman. Aren’t you supposed to be all high and mighty when dealing with us lowly weyrlings?”

Morgan’s laugh rang out like chimes, bright and cheerful. “Well, I could be, if that’s what you prefer. But I’d rather be friends.”

Maria reached out and took Morgan’s hand. “Friends, then.”

From the way Maria’s eyes shone, Morgan wasn’t the only one who felt sparks from the contact. They sat there in comfortable silence, holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. Morgan thought she’d never find a human whose eyes could be as expressive as Rialth’s, but Maria’s came close. She could lose herself in that umber gaze, if she wasn’t careful.

Perhaps it was time to stop being careful. To stop over thinking everything and discussing it with Rialth and Linn. Perhaps this was the time to just act and follow her instincts.

And so Morgan leaned forward and pressed her lips to Maria’s, her heart soaring like a dragon.


	4. Chapter 4

Maria had attended multiple Gathers at Benden Hold over the Turns, but this was her first as a dragonrider and, while she was no stranger to attention from performing as a harper, she hadn’t been fully prepared for the acclaim and adoration heaped upon her for having been in the right place at the right time. _You are more than worthy of the attention_, Faucharth said placidly. _You_ are _my rider._

Chuckling softly, Maria couldn’t argue with that. _I’m so glad you chose me._

_Who else would I pick?_ The words were coupled with a surge of affection.

Maria felt her draconic other half drift into sleep and smiled tenderly. She was no stranger to love — she loved the adopted family made up of her classmates at the Harper Hall, she loved Cybil — but she’d never imagined a love could be so all consuming, so immersive, as the love she felt for her dragon.

Spying the Lady Holder, Maria decided she should go pay her respects before seeking out the harpers and seeing if she could sit in for a few songs. Benden’s leader was a tall, statuesque woman whose regal carriage made her long, brown braids seem like a crown. The woman at her side was equally stunning with her riotous red curls and blinding smile, though the Lady’s towering height made her spouse seem short by comparison. 

“Lady Saga. Lady Rhianon.” Maria bowed the way Morgan had recently taught her, a much more shallow bow than she had offered as a journeyman harper, but still deeper than the one she would get in return.

“Gold Rider Maria.” The Lady Holder’s voice was warm and welcoming. “Congratulations on your Impression. You and Faucharth are always welcome at Benden.”

“Oh, don’t be so formal,” Rhianon grinned, bumping her hip against Saga’s. “Well done, Maria! Will you be joining the harpers? Have any new songs for us?”

“My dragon’s kept me too busy to compose,” Maria admitted. “But I hope to play a little tonight, if they’ll have me.”

“I had the same thought.” 

Maria glance to her side and bowed to the Lady Amandre, Lady Holder of Lemos. She peered around to find Lord Sam of Bitra in the crowd, not wanting to be surprised by any more noble guests catching her unaware. She spied him at one of the square wooden tables heaped with food, sitting with his heir, a slight, pale haired girl Maria hadn’t met before.

Pleasantries exchanged, Maria wandered off to leave the three ladies to their conversation. She made her way towards the stage. Where better to find harpers? Sure enough, she spied some friendly faces — the Masterharper, of course, though he looked busy debating the finer points of Benden red with the Weyrleader who just grinned and listed to the older man ramble. But she found her friends too, and the prospect of catching up lent lightness to her steps.

Maria sat down at a table with Lukas and Atra and heaved a put-upon sigh, over-exaggerated and mocking to match her dramatic pout. “I thought I’d never find you! You don’t write? You don’t visit?” 

Atra shrugged. “We figured you’d be pretty busy with Faucharth,” she said pointedly, “and it’s not like you wrote, either.”

“I wrote to Cybil. Where is she, anyway?”

Lukas rolled his eyes. “So you can make time for your partner, but not us?”

“Exactly!” Maria grinned at him and they all laughed before settling into companionable chatter. Maria kept skimming the crowd for the willowy body and golden hair of her lover, eventually finding her next to someone who at first glance could almost be a shorter copy of Cybil: the Weyrwoman, her white-blonde hair plaited back from her smiling face as she conversed with Cybil.

Maria felt a momentary pang of nerves at seeing her lover and her Weyrwoman — who she’d shared more than a few bonding moments with lately, and couldn’t deny she was attracted to — with their heads together in conversation. As one, the two blondes looked up and latched their eyes on Maria. When they both beckoned to her simultaneously, Maria’s increased heart rate had nothing to do with anxiety and everything to do with desire. Shards, they were both so gorgeous. What would it be like to lose herself in all that light hair and satin skin, to have two sets of keen eyes watching as she fell apart? 

From the meadow outside the Hold, Maria heard Faucharth trill happily as she picked up on Maria’s mood, and for some reason, knowing that the fantasy which had played through her mind met with her dragon’s approval made her blush.

Cybil’s lips quirked in a sly smirk as she reached to brush one perfectly manicured fingertip over Maria’s flushed cheek before clasping one of her hands. “Too much to drink, love?”

Morgan adopted a look of severity that was belied by the sparkle in her gray-blue eyes. “A dragonrider must have self restraint,” she said sternly, before reaching out to take Maria’s other hand, her voice shifting to a sensuous purr. “In some things.”

Maria looked from Cybil to Morgan and back again, noting that they also held hands. She could feel her eyes widen but didn’t bother trying to hide the feelings that much be flashing over her face and so obviously showing her inner thoughts. “I take it you two are, ah… getting along.”

“I’ve always respected the Weyrwoman,” Cybil said, and those words should not have sounded as heated as they did, but when coupled with the sultry sidelong look she cast Morgan’s way, they made Maria catch her breath.

“Harpers are always welcome at Benden,” Morgan declaimed regally, the open interest glinting in her eyes as she caught Cybil’s gaze at odds with the austere tone. The dichotomy was captivating, and Maria thought this was the luckiest she’d ever be, beside being there to Impress Faucharth, of course. 

“I need to speak with the Masterharper. It was nice to meet you,” Morgan said to Cybil with a parting smile before looking at Maria. “Enjoy the Gather.”

After the Weyrwoman had walked away, Maria focused her entire attention on her lover. “I was hoping to introduce you to Morgan, but as usual, you’re ten steps ahead of me.”

Cybil chuckled, wrapping an arm around Maria’s waist as they began to walk the Gather. “Would you expect anything less of me?” She kissed Maria’s cheek. “Things are still going well at the Weyr?”

“Yes.” Maria slung an arm over Cybil’s slim shoulders. She glanced at the food stalls and craft booths as they circuited the grounds, but didn’t really see much of what she was looking at; she was too focused on the woman at her side. “Faucharth is bigger every day, I swear. But they tell me she’s still too young for me to safely ride, so for now I take my lessons like a good junior weyrwoman.” She batted her eyelashes and put on a simpering grin that had Cybil dissolving into laughter.

“Sounds like that keeps you pretty busy,” Cybil noted, “but not too busy to grow close to the most gorgeous woman in the Weyr.”

“You know me, Cybil.” Maria stopped and turned, taking Cybil fully in her arms. “I’m drawn to the best.” She kissed her deeply, and it went on for long enough that when they parted both women were flushed and in need of some air.

“Have you forgotten how to play?” Cybil asked tauntingly. “I’m about to sit in for my set.”

Maria recognized the challenge for what it was. “Oh, I can keep up.”

They made their way to the dais to join the other harpers. Maria immediately realized one problem: she didn’t have her gitar. It was back at the Weyr.

Cybil spoke again, her normally reserved voice bright and airy in a way Maria didn’t hear often, and treasured when she did. “I suppose you’re going to have to sing. Don’t worry. I’ll pick something you know.”

Maria didn’t deign to answer with words, but the look she gave Cybil communicated plenty. As the musicians tuned their instruments, Maria glanced again over the crowded Gather field. Not many people were paying attention to the harpers’ preparations. The Weyrwoman, Weyrleader, and Masterharper had been joined by the Lady and Lord Holders, but they were the only ones seated near the stage.

Cybil began to play her gitar and Maria immediately recognized a song of her own creation. She blushed for the second time this Gather; the song was a love ballad Maria had composed while still an apprentice, hoping to impress the pretty blonde girl who had joined their class. It had worked, and Cybil never let her go long without throwing the sappy lyrics back in her face, but since the teasing was done with affection, Maria didn’t mind.

Besides, after she finished singing, she was going to take Cybil somewhere private and get a concert of her own.


	5. Chapter 5

_Isith rises!_ Rialth’s mental voice was strident, immediately rousing Morgan to full wakefulness. _She rises and we must go!_

By the First Egg! Isith shouldn’t rise for another few sevendays, but dragons didn’t always keep to their expected cycles. Morgan hastily tossed on the first garment she found, a wrinkled brown dress she’d worn while supervising yesterday’s numbweed boil. The fabric still reeked from the fumes, but there wasn’t any time to fuss over it. 

_Bespeak Faucharth, and have her and Maria meet us outside the Lower Caverns_, Morgan said. While Faucharth was too young to be affected by another dragon rising, Maria was not, and it was best to take their golds far away so that Isith wouldn’t perceive them as rivals.

Morgan hurried out to the ledge and leapt astride Rialth, making herself take the time to fasten the safety straps properly and rigging up a second set for Maria. Faucharth was still too young to bear a rider, but not so young that she couldn’t follow Rialth. As they made the short flight down from their weyr, Morgan wished she’d grabbed a jacket. They’d have to fly straight. However the outrage in Isith’s challenging bugle — shells, she must have seen Rialth — had her rethinking her decision to go back for it. 

Thankfully Linn, as always, was such a mind reader that Morgan again wondered why she’d never Impressed. “Take this,” said said briskly, passing up a jacket that Morgan put on over the safety straps. As Morgan helped Maria to climb up behind her and get strapped in, Linn buckled a carisak behind Maria that undoubtedly held food and drink.

_Let’s go!_

In no time, they were airborne. Rialth kept an easy pace so that Faucharth could keep up, and Morgan found herself enjoying the brisk morning air almost as much as the feel of Maria pressed up against her back. 

She didn’t have to give Rialth instructions; her dragon would already know where she wanted to go. They always went to the lake when another dragon was rising. It had become their habit to swim and sun and consider it an unscheduled freeday. In the past, Morgan had invited other friends to join them, but today Morgan didn’t want to spend the day with anyone except Maria.

She just hoped she’d read things right leading up to the Gather last month, and if so, that Maria still Maria felt the same way. They hadn’t gotten to spend any time together since then, outside of communal meals and chores. Stirring numbweed kettles wasn’t the most romantic setting, nor was a table full of other riders.

Morgan had longed for an occasion to get Maria alone, and she really must thank Isith for rising early and giving her the perfect excuse to spirit the other woman away from the Weyr full of prying eyes and wagging tongues. She hadn’t felt this drawn to another person since, well… before she Impressed Rialth. Upon assuming her duties in the weyr, she’d completely sublimated her own needs and desires into those of her dragon. When Rialth rose, Morgan chose a willing woman to invite back to her weyr, but nothing longer lasting than a sevenday had ever grown from those dragon-roused encounters. Thankfully for these past Turns since becoming Senior Weyrwoman, Fuegoth had consistently flown her queen. Not that any rider would expect her to sleep with them just because their dragon flew her gold, but Fuegoth’s Nicholas preferred to share his flights with his long term partner, a journeyman farmer named Colin, who he’d been involved with since nearly the same time he Impressed his dragon. Their arrangement suited all of them, dragons and riders alike, and Morgan was grateful for it.

While Morgan had no expectations of monogamy — Maria had another lover already, after all, and she had no wish to deny either of them the joys that could come from intimacy — she was hoping to spend the foreseeable future wrapped up in Maria, enjoying getting to know her better, savoring the growth of feelings that could turn into love if given the nourishment and space to do so. She reached out to the place in her mind which was Rialth’s and showered her draconic partner with affection. Rialth’s warble was barely audible above the winds whipping past Morgan’s head, but she felt the dragon’s joy as surely as she felt her own. In this, as in so many other things, they were one.

Rialth circled lower, and Morgan lifted a hand to shade her eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the lake. The day was crisp and clear, and a fine one to spend outdoors under any circumstances. Morgan hoped to come to an understanding with Maria today, but if that wasn’t to be, she would still be glad to spend a sunny day by the shore with her dragon and her friend.

Once Rialth landed, Morgan unbuckled the harness and leapt down. She turned, her thoughts reaching out to Rialth to ask her to extend a foreleg to aid in Maria’s dismount, but Maria jumped down as easily as she had. Morgan couldn’t help but smile at the rapid clip of Maria’s steps when she immediately went to her dragon’s side. The smaller gold had weathered the flight well. Morgan could hear a faint echo of Rialth’s praise, but none of Faucharth’s response — she wasn’t one of the rare weyrwomen who could hear all dragons. 

“Faucharth flew nicely,” she said, walking over to stand at Maria’s side. “You’ve done well with her.”

“She does well to tolerate me,” Maria laughed, scratching Faucharth’s eye ridges. “Yes, go on and swim! I’ll oil you after.”

Rialth rumbled in amusement, but was in the water an instant after Faucharth. Both weyrwomen watched as the gold dragons cavorted and played. Faucharth took a great mouthful of water and sprayed it at Rialth who retaliated by rearing up and flapping her massive wings, creating tall waves that completely overcame the smaller dragon. After they had both thoroughly drenched each other, they climbed out and found good sunny spots to lay in, wings spread out to dry as they dozed in the warmth. Oiling would wait until they woke up.

“This was a good idea,” Maria said. “I’m used to hard work. I can handle hard work. But as a weyrling, there’s never really a break. Well, except the Gather. That was a welcome respite.”

Morgan felt excitement surge within her. Maria bringing up the Benden Gather gave her the perfect opening to discuss her feelings.

“The Gather _was_ nice, wasn’t it?” Morgan sought out Maria’s dark brown eyes, locking on to them with her own stormy gaze. “I rather enjoyed meeting Cybil.”

Maria snorted. “I noticed.” Her lips flirted with the hint of a smile, but her eyes remained guarded.

Morgan worried her lower lip in her teeth, buying herself a moment to choose her next words. “You noticed… but did you mind?”

Shaking her head, Maria smiled broadly, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “I don’t own Cybil. The two of you are welcome to…enjoy…each other as you wish.”

Blinking in confusion, Morgan stared blankly at Maria, who apparently thought Morgan was asking her permission to pursue her lover. Truthfully, Morgan _was_ interested in Cybil. In the deepest chamber of her heart, she hoped that someday all three of them could come to an understanding. But that’s not what she was trying to broach with Maria, not now. Today wasn’t about Morgan’s attraction to Cybil, though she knew they’d have that conversation one day.

Today was about Maria.

“You silly wherry,” Morgan whispered, reaching up to gently bracket Maria’s face with her calloused hands. “I’m not asking you permission to court your partner, though I’m happy to know that you wouldn’t mind if we grew close.”

Maria’s eyes had gone wide and her characteristic bravado had fled. “Then what _are_ you asking?”

As with their first kiss, Morgan thought this was another instance in which there were truly no adequate words, so she let her actions speak for her. With as much tenderness as she could muster, Morgan brushed her lips over Maria’s once, twice, before drawing back to make eye contact again, wanting to see what was reflected in those dark depths and hoping it might match what was in her own heart.

Her breath caught at the kaleidoscope of emotions whirling in Maria’s eyes. Shock, pleasure, trepidation, desire. Which feeling would win out in the end? Morgan started to wonder if she’d made a poor decision. Perhaps she should have pursued Cybil first, and continued to get to know Maria as a friend and a mentor. She was her senior Weyrwoman after all, and no matter how little Morgan cared about rank, she knew some people did. This was a terrible mistake. What had she been thinking? Had she even been thinking at all?

But then Maria reached for her, and all of Morgan’s thoughts fled as they fell to the soft grass as inflamed as if dragon-roused.

“Took you long enough,” Maria murmured, lips brushing sensuously against Morgan’s earlobe before she took it into her mouth. She nipped it before letting go to seek out Morgan’s lips once more.

“You could’ve said something too,” Morgan argued, though the way her voice broke mid-sentence on a breathy gasp told the lie of her acerbic timbre. She wrapped her arms around Maria tightly as they kissed, peripherally aware of the way both their dragons trilled approvingly from where they rest on the shore.

“Words are,” Maria licked Morgan’s jawline, “overrated,” and punctuated her sentence by pressing her lips to Morgan’s pulse point.

“Says the harper!” Morgan rolled them until she straddled Maria, grinding down against her, now grateful she hadn’t had time for riding garb. The cotton dress she wore did little to mask the sensation of Maria beneath her, though her soon-to-be lover’s pants had to go. She reached down for the tie, but stopped before loosening it, gray eyes flitting back to Maria’s. “You’re sure?” she asked softly, letting her nerves show in a rare moment. If she couldn’t be vulnerable now, she had no business seeing this through.

“I’m sure,” Maria said, reaching down and undoing her pants herself. “Lift off me so I can get out of these.”

Both were too impatient to strip further, but found little impediment from Morgan’s dress or Maria’s shirt. They lost themselves in sighing breaths and surging lips, in roaming hands and teasing tongues.

They found each other.

And in the end, when their passion was sated and they lay sweaty and entwined on the lakeside meadow, Morgan looked up at the brilliant azure sky and smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

That evening back at Benden Weyr, Maria finally felt like she truly fit in. She knew Benden was her home from the moment she lost herself in Faucharth’s prismatic gaze, but now she was starting to feel included, rather than merely tolerated, due to her Impression.

As various riders and weyrfolk noticed the way Maria and Morgan orbited each other, never far away for long, it was interesting to note which had sour expressions and which were gleeful. Maria even thought she saw two green riders exchanging coin. Had their feelings been that obvious, despite her attempt to push them away after the Gather night those sevendays ago? 

With a cavalier shrug, Maria walked right over to the pair. Despite their disparate appearance — the woman, Mercy if Maria’s memory served, was all pale skin and hair as dark as _between_, while the man, Remy, was as bright as the sun — they were twins, and they had Impressed from the same clutch a few Turns back.

In her past life as a harper, Maria had been trained in subtlety and subterfuge, schooled extensively in choosing exactly the best way to break the ice while keeping everyone perfectly at ease, unless it would better serve her purpose to throw someone off balance. But shard it, she was a dragonrider now, and found frank, honest expression quite freeing. “Did you wager on me?”

Two pairs of ice blue eyes honed in on her, and Maria smirked seeing the faintest hint of pink appear on Remy’s cheekbones. Mercy looked unrepentant, and affected a bored mien.

Well, this was getting her nowhere fast. “Who won?”

Brassy laughter that perfectly suited bold red hair and vibrant brown eyes broke the tension. The newcomer — a journeyman smith, from her shoulder knots — was the shortest of them all, but somehow seemed to tower over them with her mere presence. Must be a smithcrafter thing. “She’s got you pegged, love.”

Maria watched with interest as the newcomer slid an arm around the Mercy’s waist before sticking her free hand out towards Maria. “Name’s Nika.”

Taking the hand and shaking it, Maria arched her brows in approval at the firmness of the grasp as well as the directness of the eye contact. She was tired of people simpering around her on their tiptoes just because she rode a queen. “Maria.”

Nika turned to grin at Mercy and Remy. “Who wagered on it happening before the Bitra Gather?”

Remy lifted a hand and waved it indolently, the corners of his lips quirking in a satisfied grin. “I’m afraid I’ve taken all your partner's marks, Nika. You’ll have to buy her the new riding gloves she’s been putting off.”

A most impressive growl emitted from Mercy, followed be a muttered string of what Maria assumed were oaths — or threats — directly into her brother’s ear. But like quicksilver, the mood changed, and Mercy beamed around the small group. “As if that was my entire stash. Drinks are on me at Bitra next Gather. Shells, they’d be on me tonight if they cost anything here.”

Maria lingered by the three, determined to come away from the evening with new friends. She hadn’t really made any connections in the Weyr yet except for Morgan, and the camaraderie of Mercy, Nika, and Remy reminded her of her companions from the Harper Hall. She ruthlessly squashed an upwelling of homesickness — she didn’t miss her old life! Here she had Faucharth, and Morgan, and—

_We can go back and visit._ Her dragon’s voice broke in, the calm in Maria’s storm. _Just as soon as I’m large enough, I will take you anywhere!_

Filled with love for her golden lifemate, Maria lost herself in their bond for several long moments. When she came back to herself, she colored lightly when she noticed all three of her potential new friends looking at her with knowing smiles. 

“Didn’t someone mention drinks?”

And just like that, the mood was easy and carefree, the four finding an empty table already set for dinner service. They loaded up their plates and drank glass after glass of a tart Istan white, the perfect refreshing counterpart to the menu of fish and greens.

Maria’s eyes kept drifting to the head table, where she usually sat. But from her seat at the far end, as befit her rank as the most junior weyrwoman, she didn’t have this fine of a view of Morgan. She drank in the sight of her new lover more ardently than she’d ever drink the wine. Morgan’s kisses were so delicious, the bounty served to them paled in comparison. Her body was so soft and warm, that Maria didn’t think she needed the food to sustain her. Her voice cascading in release was all the music this harper raised rider could ever need.

She watched Morgan engage in conversation with the Weyrleader, the other weyrwomen, and the wingleaders, and couldn’t help but feel a small tingle of pleasure each time Morgan’s eyes alighted on the empty chair where Maria was meant to be. How long would it take for Morgan to pick her out of the crowded room? 

It turned out, nearly half the meal had passed before Morgan spied her. But it was well worth the wait to see those gray-blue eyes widen in surprise and then narrow with annoyance. Maria grinned up at Morgan, and Morgan rolled her eyes before darting a meaningful glance towards that empty seat. Maria shrugged and gestured around her at the others, and when Morgan nodded, knew the meaning was understood.

Besides, even if half the Weyr suspected (and placed bets), Maria wasn’t quite ready to blatantly parade her newfound relationship before all and sundry. She wanted to savor it, to keep it just between them and their dragons (or at least give herself the illusion of doing so) for a while longer.

She may not have dinner with Morgan tonight. But she knew they’d find time later.

Now that they’d come together, there was nothing on all of Pern that could keep them apart.

**Author's Note:**

> basketofnovas, you have no idea how THRILLED I was to get a match on Dragonriders, let alone one that (to summarize from your dear creator letter) wanted femslash and poly along with their Pern. I hope that I did your prompt justice and thank you for giving me something so fun to work with! <3
> 
> Once authors are revealed from anonymous status, I will edit in a complete cast list (with credit to the folks who let me borrow from their worlds) so check back!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!
> 
> EDITED TO ADD AFTER AUTHOR REVEAL:
> 
> As promised, a cast list (can you have a Pern story without a glossary or list of who's who? I say no). Noted beside the name if they belong to someone other than me. I had WAY too much fun making this list and I have explanations for every single name on it, but I won't bore you with them in this note (if you want to know, ask!)
> 
> Dragonriders:  
Weyrwoman Morgan on Gold Rialth  
Maria on Gold Faucharth  
Katalaeia on Gold Isith  
Weryleader Nicholas on Bronze Fuegoth  
Ivaar on Bronze Parapeth  
Apex on Bronze Falleth (Ali)  
Weyrlingmaster Su on Brown Survath  
Andros on Brown Lexeth  
Auri on Blue Raidelth (Raidelle)  
Daryl on Blue Falcoth  
Tara on Green Willith  
Remy on Green Harrith (Ali)  
Mercy on Green Harrath (Ali)
> 
> Weyrfolk:  
Headwoman Linn  
headwoman’s son Quinn
> 
> Harpers:  
Masterharper Frederick  
Journeyman Harper Cybil (Ali)  
Journeyman Harper Lukas (Hope)  
Journeyman Harper Atra (Hope)
> 
> Other Craftspeople:  
Journeyman Farmer Fiona  
Journeyman Healer Rhianon (Ali)  
Journeyman Smith Nika (Hope)  
Journeyman Healer Silas (Ali)  
Journeyman Healer Colin
> 
> Holders:  
Lady Saga of Benden Hold (Ali)  
Lady Amandre of Lemos Hold  
Lord Sam of Bitra Hold 
> 
> And finally, if you made it this far, thank you so very much for reading, and any kudos/comments you choose to leave. <3


End file.
